UAE banks provide Dhs15.6bn to trade, industrial sectors in Q1 2024

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) said credit facilities provided by the country’s national banks to the business and industrial sectors increased by 2.1 per cent to Dhs15.6bn in the first three months of the year.

The latest data from the apex lender shows that the cumulative credit balance to the wo sectors reached Dhs757.4bn by the end of March 2024, up from Dhs741.8bn last December.

The financing provided to the two sectors increased by 1.24 per cent (Dhs9.3bn) from Dhs748.1bn in February, a 3.02 per cent (Dhs22.2bn) year-on-year growth compared to Dhs735.2bn for the corresponding period a year ago.

UAE national banks accounted for 90 per cent of the combined credit to the two sectors, while the remaining 10 per cent (Dhs84.3bn) came from foreign banks operating in the country.

The credit balance from Abu Dhabi banks came in at around Dhs374.1bn in Q1 2024; banks in Dubai provided Dhs363.3bn, and those in other emirates lent Dhs104.3bn to the two sectors.

The UAE central bank said that conventional banks facilitated around Dhs694bn, or 82.5 per cent of the total funding, while the share of Islamic banks reached an estimated Dhs147.7bn, equivalent to 17.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the accumulated balance of financial facilities and loans provided by UAE banks to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country reached Dhs81.7bn in Q1 2024.

Loans to SMEs accounted for 9.7 per cent of the total accumulated balance of financial facilities for the trade and industrial sector.

The SME sector represents more than 95 per cent of the total number of companies operating in the UAE and provides jobs to around 86 per cent of the private sector’s workforce.

Read: UAE banking sector’s liquid assets rise to Dhs786.6bn in Q1 2024